Illuminated wrist watch



March 20, 1962 c. H. FL'Elsl-nwmuv ETAI.

ILLUMINATED WRIST WATCH Filed March 16, 1961 4 Y W ,M T y s e NSS Ewa mV Na@ vw 1a@ SMM United States Patent 3,025,662 ILLUMINATED WRIST WATCHCharles H. Fleishman, New York, and Bernard Ross, Island Park, N.Y.,assignors to Electronic Cover-Lite Corp., New York, N.Y., a corporationof New York Filed Mar. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 96,213 4 Claims. (Cl. 58-S0)The present invention relates to a novel and improved illuminatedwrist-watch, and in particular to a wrist-watch assembly including aself-contained electrical circuit, light bulb and switch means forilluminating the face of the watch.

lt has been proposed to provide a Watch with a selfcontained electriclight and power supply assembly, these having been built directly withinthe watch body. This requires that the watch have a special constructionand that the lighting arrangement be built in at the time of manufactureof the watch. ln addition, the mounting of the electric bulb, powersupply, switch and circuit within the watch body necessarily increasesthe size of the watch and makes the assembly unsuitable for use in thesmaller-sized ladies watches. Further, conventional illuminated watcheshave the light bulb built into the face of the watch at `the marginthereof, so that one side of the watch face is illuminated and it isdiicult to read the opposite side.

An object of the present invention is to provide novel means forilluminating the face of a wrist-watch in which a miniature electricbulb is mounted exteriorly of the watch body and is so arranged that itslight is directed uniformly over the entire face of the watch so thatthe latter can be easily read in dark surroundings.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an illuminated watchassembly including a watch band and a hinged cover for the watch face,in which an electric bulb, power supply and switch are built into thewatch band and cover and apart from the main body of the watch, so thatthe lighting arrangement does not increase the size of the watch and canbe used advantageously for miniature ladiesV wrist watches.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a watch assemblyof the character described in which the watch band and cover with theirbuilt-in lighting arrangement may 4be applied to various watches ofconventional type so that standard watches may be afforded illuminationwithout changing the structure of the watch itself.

ln accordance with the invention herein, there is provided a Wrist watchassembly including a watch, a metallic band made of electricallyconductive material and a watch cover also made of conductive materialand hinged to the watch body for movement between a closed position inwhich the watch face is covered over and an open position in which thewatch face is exposed to view. A miniature electric bulb is mounted inthe watch cover and a miniature electric battery cell is mounted on thewatch band. The watch cover and battery carry respective electricalcontacts so positioned as to engage when the cover is opened to completean energizing circuit between the battery cell and the light bulb andilluminate the latter. The open cover then acts as a reector to directthe light from the bulb onto the face of the watch.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following specification when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a top plan view of a watch assembly made in accordance withthe invention herein, and showing the watch cover in closed position andthe watch band partially broken away;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view taken along line 2 2 of FIG.1, with portions shown in section to reveal inner construction; and

FiG. 3 is a side elevational view partially in section, similar to FIG.2, but on a more enlarged scale and with the cover shown in raisedposition.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is shown a watch assemblyincorporating the features l,of the present invention and generallyincluding a wrist watch 10, a watch strap 12, and a hinged cover 14.

The wrist watch 10 may be of any conventional type and is shown hereinas a ladies watch which is customarily made of small size. The watch 10`may have the usual winding crown 16, and has a face (not shown) coveredby a transparent crystal 18. The watch casing 22 is also conventional,and for purposes of this invention is preferably made ofelectrically-conductive material such as a gold or silver for a purposewhich will be presently apparent.

The watch strap 12 is also of conventional construction and ispreferably made of electrically conductive material so as to form a partof the electrical circuit for the light bulb, as will be presentlyexplained. For this purpose, a watch strap made of gold, silver, orother conductive metal may be employed. In the drawings, by way ofexample, the Watch strap 12 is shown made of a metallic mesh or linkedtype material and is formed of two separate strap sections 26 and 28.The inner end of strap section 28 is rigidly secured to the watch casing22 as by welding or soldering 20. The strap section 26 terminates at itsinner end in a rigid and inflexible portion 30 which is also made ofelectrically conductive material and preferably of the same metal as theremainder of the watch strap 12. This rigid portion 30 is secured to theopposite side of the watch casing 22, as by soldering 32. The free endsof the strap sections 26 and 28 may be provided with conventional claspmeans (not shown) for securing the watch band 12 around the wrist.

The cover 14 is of inverted cup-shape having a top wall 34, and adepending peripheral wall 36, which in the drawings is shown as annularin shape to correspond to a circular watch body. This shape of wall 36,however, is shown merely by way of illustration, and it is to beunderstood that the watch casing 22 and cover 14 may have any suitableshape. The cover `14 is sized to overlie the top surface of the casing22 and-to cover over the face thereof, in the manner shown in FIG. 2,with the top wall 34 spaced above the crystal 18. In this manner, thecrystal 18 and watch face are protected when the watch is not in use.The outer surface of top Wall 34 may be provided with suitable designornamentation designated by numeral 38 to enhance the appearance of thewatch.

The edge portion of the cover peripheral wall 36 is movably mounted onthe upper edge portion of the watch casing 22 by a hinge '40. The cover14 may thus be swung between its closed position of FIGS. l and 2,overlying the watch face, to the opened position of FIG. 3 in which itupstands substantially perpendicularly from the plane of the watch faceand exposes the latter to view. It will be observed that the hinge 49 islocated adjacent the rigid portion 3i) of strap section 26, so that whenthe cover 14 is raised, it overlies the inner end of said rigid strapportion 30. Opposite said hinge 40, the cover wall 36 has an integralextension tab 42 which snaps into a position overlapping the adjacentside wall portion of the watch casing 22 to hold the cover 14 releasablyin closed position.

A miniature electric bulb 44 is mounted within the cover i4, the bulbhaving a glass envelope 46 containing a filament 4S. The bulb envelope46 is secured to the inner surface of the cover top wall 34, as bycementing. The filament l48 has a pair of terminal wires 50 and 52 whichproject from the envelope 46, the terminal wire 50 being electricallyconnected to the cover top wall 34 as by soldering 54. The otherterminal wire 52 is covered by a layer of insulation 56 and extendsalong the inner surface of the top wall 34 to the peripheral wall 36,extending through an aperture 58 in the latter. The free bare end ofwire 52 is electrically connected to a contact 6i) mounted onthe outerface of peripheral wall 36, but separated therefrom by an insulatedplate 62.

The electric bulb 44 is energized by a miniature mercury electric cell64 of the button type customarily used in hearing aids and similardevices. The battery cell 64 has a flat end portion 66l constituting thepositive pole of the cell, and an opposite end portion 68 of largerdiameter constituting the negative pole. The battery cell 64 is mountedon the lower surface of the rigid portion 3i) of watch band section 26within a hollow battery casing 70 made of conductive material and formedintegrally with the bottom surface of said strap rigid portion 30x Thebatf tery casing 70 has a bottom open end which is closed oil yby acup-shaped cover section 72y which frictionally nts upon the casing 70to retain the cell 64 therein. The negative pole section 68 of thebattery cell 64 makes electrical contact with the conductive coversection 72 and through the casing 70, band section 26, watch casing 22and hinged cover 34, with the bulb terminal wire 50. The aforementionedparts thus serve as a ground for the electrical circuit.

, The positive battery section 66 is insulated from the watch bandsection 26 by a non-conductive plate 80I which carries the bareend of aninsulated wire 74. The wire 74 extends through the rigid portion Sil ofwatch band section 26 and its opposite bare end is connected to acontact 76 mounted on the outer surface of said rigid strap portion 30and separated therefrom by an insulating plate 78. The contact 76 is somounted that lwhen the hinged watch cover 34 is turned to its openposition of FIG. 3, the contact 60 engages the contact 716 and closesthe battery circuit through the light bulb 44. It will be appreciatedthat the rigid strap portion 30l serves as a secure mount for thecontact '716I and cannot move relative to the watch casing Z2, therebypreventing accidental engagement of the contacts 6G, '76 duringwearingrof the watch.

In use, the watch is normally worn with the cover 14 in closed position,in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2, and since the contacts 60` and 76are separated, the energizing circuit to the light bulb 44 isinterrupted and the light is extinguished. When the user is in adarkened room, theatre, or other dark surroundings, and wishes toascertain the time by reading the watch face, it is merely necessary toopen the cover 14 and turn it to its upstanding position of FIG. 3. Thisexposes the face of the watch l0 and at the same time brings the contact60 into engagement with the contact 76 to illuminate the bulb. 44. vAnenergizing circuit is thus completed by electrically connecting one endof the bulb filament 48 with the positive battery pole 66 throughterminal wire 54, contacts 60, 76, and wire 714. As previouslyexplained, the other end of filament 48v is already electricallyconnected to the positive battery pole 68 through the ground connectionsprovided by the conductive battery casing 70, `cover section 72, strapsection 2.6, watch casing 22, and hinged cover 14.

The inner surface of the cover 14 is highly polished to provide areective surface for directing the light of the illuminated bulb 44 ontothe face of watch 10. The direct and reflected light of the bulb `44 issufficient to effectively illuminate the entire face of the watch sothat it may be easily read in complete darkness.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made in such embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

l. A wrist watch assembly comprising a watch case having a watch iface,a wrist strap secured to said case, a cover hingedly secured -to saidcase and movable between `a closed position overlying the watch face andan open position exposing said watch -face, `a power source carried bysaid strap, an electric bulb mounted on said cover for illuminating saidwatch face when said cover is open, and circuit means for electricallyconnecting said power source to said bulb and including a first contactelectrically connected to said bulb and carried by said cover and asecond contact electrically connected to sai-d power source and carriedby said wrist strap, said contacts being spaced from each other when thecover is in closed position, said first contact being positioned toengage the second contact when the cover is moved to its open positionand complete the circuit means for energizing said bulb and illuminatingsaid watch face.

2. A wrist watch assembly comprising a watch case having a watch face, awrist str-ap secured to said case, a cover hingedly secured to said caseand movable between a closed position overlying the Watch face and anopen position upistanding from one side of lthe watch case and exposingsaid watch face, a miniature electric cell mounted on said strap, aminiature electric bulb mounted on the inner surface of` said cover forilluminating said watch face when said cover is in open position andhaving a pair of terminals, an energizing circuit for electricallyconnecting said electric cell to saidbulb and including circuit meansconnecting one pole of said cell to-:one termina-l of said bulb, a iirstcontact electrically connected to the other terminal of :said bulb -andcarried by said cover, and a second contact electrically connected tothe other pole of saidcell and carried by said wrist strap, saidcontacts being separated from each other when the cover is in close-dposition, said first contact being positioned to eng-age the secondcontact when the cover is' moved to its open position, therebycompleting the energizing circuit for said `bulb and illuminating thewatch face.

3. A wrist watch assembly according to claim 2 in which said wrist strapand cover are made of electrically conductive material and are includedin said circuit means.'

4. A wrist watch assembly comprising a watch case having a watch face, awrist strap secured to said case, a cover hingedly secured to said caseand movable between a closed position overlying the watch face and anopen position exposing said watch face, said wrist watch asseml'yincluding a power source, an electric bulb mounted on said cover forilluminating -said watch face when said cover is open, and circuit meansfor electrically connecting said power source to said bulb and includinga first Contact electrically connected to said'bulb and carried by saidcover and a second contact electrically connected t0 said power source,said contacts being spaced from each other when the cover is in closedposition, said iirst contact being positioned to engage the secondcontact when the cover is moved to its open position and complete thecircuit means for energizing said bulb and' illuminating said watchface.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

